ATTAQUE: Doing his own thing

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Exclusive interview with producer Dominic Attaque. New album When Light Falls out today!

[By Monica Harris]

Q. You grew up listening to Laurent Garnier. Tell us about that.

Attaque: I wasn’t a massive techno head when I was younger, I got into dance music through older friends who had decks, they would play a lot of house and big beat but not much techno, I remember when one of them played crispy bacon by Laurent Garnier, it didn’t sound like anything else I had heard, my girlfriend then played me the unreasonable behaviour album and I was hooked.

Q. How did your taste and style evolve into what is now “Attaque”.

Attaque: Well I grew up going to illegal raves in old aircraft hangers and condemned warehouses in Essex and I’m sure that has transcended into my productions, not necessarily the same style of those tracks, more the feeling of big tracks with big builds and stuff. I’ve been obsessed with the chemical brothers for the last 15 years so I’m sure they have a part to play. Before Attaque I was writing in a more noisy electro style and I guess Attaque was born when I got fed up of that sound and I stopped trying to fit in with everything else and just did my own thing.

Q. Tell us about the creation of When Light Falls.

Attaque: Well it’s only been a year since releasing the first E.P, everything has moved so fast since then that it feels almost like it created itself. The thing is when you’re excited in the studio and other people are excited by what you’re doing the writing process becomes much faster and enjoyable. After the last E.P (Shine) came out I already had some more demos. When we added up the tracks we realized that we had an album’s worth and they all made sense together as they had all been done in the same period. I had always wanted to do an album and I’m still not sure I consider this a proper album because it was never done intentionally, there are no guest vocalists or collaborations or videos, just 10 big club tracks, it’s only when you sit down and listen to all the tracks together that it does feel like an album. It’s something I’m very proud of.

Q. When you perform, which tune never fails to make the crowd excited?

Attaque: At the moment that would be Rave Weapon by Alex Metric. I’ve played it throughout Europe at loads of different time slots and the reaction is always incredible. If I’m doing a live set then a track from the album called The End gets everyone excited.

Q. What’s your favorite album of all time?

Attaque: I’m afraid there isn’t an answer to that question. It’s all about choosing the right album for the right moment and when you do that, the album you’re listening to becomes your favourite album of all time.

Q. Have you been to Los Angeles? What are your favorite hangouts?

Attaque: I spent 10 hours waiting for a connecting flight at LAX but wasn’t allowed to leave the airport. So my favourite hangout was the airport bar.

Q. Who are your current favorite techno producers?

Attaque: Clouds – I’ve played with them a few times and every time is the same, I tap them on the shoulder when they’re playing and say “what the fuck is this, it’s the best thing I’ve ever heard” and they always respond “it’s one of our new jams.” Dusty Kid – it doesn’t matter what type of track it is whether it’s minimal or electro, the outcome is always huge. NT89 – You can always count on what he does to sound great in a club. Without NT89 my DJ sets would be lacking slightly.

Q. What qualities does a song usually have that cause you to want to create a remix?

Attaque: Usually just a hook or part of a track that you know would make a hook or sound really cool when repeated. People forget how important repetition is in dance music. I find the more you listen to something over and over the more you get transfixed by it.